I am really racially ambiguous. I can look Chinese, Hawaiian, Philippino, or Hispanic on any given day... so I wasn't given the foreigner treatment when I was there.

Have you considered a career in spying? ... from what I read in the news these days, spies of a powerful nation are getting caught or being accused daily of spying ... with their reputation at stake these days, I'm sure their secret service can use someone like you, with unique abilities to blend as well as your great photographic skill ... that's a rare combination ... I bet you'd get paid handsomely.

Do I get to meet interesting people named Pussy Galore, Honey Ryder, Holly Goodhead, Octopussy, or Xenia Onatopp? Sign me up.

As a final annecdote: I was taking shots at a busy falconry display with my 300mm f2.8 and a bloke starts saying I must be a professional and "that's a £4000 lens!". I was polite and said it was just a hobby. We chatted very briefly - he was asking what exposure I was using etc. He raised his eyebrows in a derisory way and said, "pfff, you think you'll get much using that?". I shook my head and carried on with my afternoon. Throughout the display he regularly strolled past me while giving me the same condescending looks. Nice.

That's acutally why I generally don't engage in small talk with other serious gear carriers. nothing, P&S, Rebels are welcome.Sad to say but I already had a Nikonian ruining part of my shoot (I had THE spot) for not understanding i was not interested in a brand war discussion.

@Malcom: I used to hate having my picture taken. I'm quite self aware (beer belly FTW) and chinese people can be very direct ("kan zhe pang laowai") but after a while you get used to it.

@Malcom: I used to hate having my picture taken. I'm quite self aware (beer belly FTW) and chinese people can be very direct ("kan zhe pang laowai") but after a while you get used to it.

That they can! I've actually been here for 5 years, and have a Chinese wife and a son. I still can't really get used to the random people on the street asking for photos though. It's one thing with the students at school (another 20 photos today!), but people grabbing their phone cameras in the supermarket is still a bit off-putting.

. Being an obvious foreigner in China helps too: culturally chinese people like to have their picture taken (with some limitation of course) and being a foreigner with gear they assume that you have no intention to scam them or sell them anything.

Few years ago in Japan, maybe second day in, a group of young girls came to me at a park (I was carrying gripped 7D+some lens at the time), and they asked me if it'd be ok to take picture. (can't recall if they asked in Japanese or English, but chance of confusion would be about equal on both) One of them was holding a P&S, so I assumed they looked for someone who might know how to take picture, to take their picture. But no, they wanted that one person to take picture of me posing with the girls. Same thing happened quite several times during that trip, although most times it was only few girls I had to pose with.

I'm 6"6' and Scandinavian so I stick out like a sore thumb, twice, here in southern China.At work I don't get noticed much anymore (except by the newcomers), but whenever I go out during the weekends, I will get stopped and asked for photos like tpatana. I even got asked for photos at the Tiger Leaping Gorge and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Invariably, it's (giggling) girls that ask for photos. I've even had that the boyfriend had to take the picture of me and his girl. Anyway, none have every meant any harm and at worst I've asked them to wait a moment because I was in the middle of changing lenses or repacking my gear.

There’s a big debate about the freedom of photographers to photograph what they want on one side, and people wanting their privacy on the other. Both points-of-view have merit, but something had tipped this guy over the edge."

Just a guess but perhaps it was the fact he was somewhere or doing something he should not have been! Despite having a crap memory I would have tried to commit his features to memory in case I saw something on the news that could have made him relevant! Cheers G.

That said, I fear for the humanity as it seems kindness is dying from the world. If you're busy shooting while someone comes for a chat, just respond "Sorry, I need to get these shots now, but I'd love to chat after I'm done". No need to be mean. I don't believe in karma as something supernatural, but I do believe if you treat people nice and remember to smile, better things happen to you compared if you're mean/angry and shout at people.

Hi guys Karma, a little off topic, but I live on the Isle of Wight southern England. Every year there is a large scooter rally here, many nice machines and nice people, the few rotten apples that spoil the thing for all. Loud, driving outside the traffic regs, make the whole thing unpleasant for the locals.

One year I was on the way out and saw one of these machines at a bus stop in bits with a crowd poring over it, an hour or so later I returned, machine and rider were alone. I was driving my classic car daily driver at the time and pulled in to help, "I have a trailer at home mate, Would you like me to get it and take you somewhere?""oh mate would you really?""yes of course give me 20 mins I'll be back."Picked him up dropped him to his hotel we arrived to cheers from his mates, they mobbed me you gotta have a drink with us buddy, could see ending up unable to legally drive home so I declined. Took a couple of hours out of my life, told him not to worry about payment or anything just help someone else if he sees a need.20 years later a chap says hi, I didn't remember him, he says he is the guy I helped, made that much impression for a brief act of kindness. Yes it made me feel good twice!

Hi guys.If asked about gear, I don't pass up the opportunity to learn, they are probably a better photog than I, they may not be but invariably there is something to learn even if it's only, the view is much better from over there or hey buddy I would watch out this is not the best place to be with expensive gear! If there is nothing for me to learn then perhaps I can add to the other persons knowledge, one of my sayings is "there is no such thing as a stupid question, just one you don't know he answer to."A theif would probably grab and yank or cut the strap as they pass rather than striking up a face to face conversation and risk being identified. Though I bet there are exceptions!

I'm happy to chat, about anything! So chat about gear does not bother me one jot.

Why would it? I don't feel defensive about my own choices even if they are not others first choice.

Eg: I tend to shoot longer focal lengths than others, because I think in those terms. Others might want extreme wide angle lenses, but I see no reason to be defensive about it. I don't attack them and receive the same courtesy from them.

paul13walnut5

I remember one occasion, 18 or so years ago, I was visiting my Gran, she wasn't at home so i correctly assumed she was walking her dog in the nearby park. I caught up with her and she was talking to a dog walker friend.

"Paul does some photographry" she said."Oh aye?, what kind of camera are you using""An EOS 1000""Hahaha, thats not a camera thats a toy"

Being a less than confident 18 year old, and a novice I didn't answer back. I would love there to be some poetic ending like years later I bumped into him and he was in the gutter / had cateracts / was working taking photos on the tourist bus for £2 a time etc.. but there's not. An old gear snob was quite nasty, and a young skint wannabe photographer was quite hurt. I hope he got gored shooting the bull-run or fell into an adders nest. But he probably didn't. He'll still be there, telling folk that their EOS 1100D is a toy..

I had similar experiences at a local camera club. Lots of fat old people using expensive gear to take crap pictures. Asked a few times what kit I used (Had an EOS 3 by then, not that it matters) but never asked to show any of my work. Never went back.

Found another club where they had 3 speakers each club night, one would be an expert in a given field (the night I was there it was butterflies and funghi, not interested in the subject matter at all, but the guy was a great speaker, went through how he plans a shoot, how he picks his kit, how he builds a hide, top tips.. it was a really interesting presentation even if the technically accomplished pictures didn't excite me.

The next speaker was a novice using a bridge camera, and was very nervous, but folk asked him the right questions to bring out where he was and where he wanted to be, his photos were pretty poor but it was an interesting discussion and the guy left with lots of pointers all given in positive friendly terms.

Lastly the club chairman went through his pick of members photographs, 2 or 3 each, and asked folk to speak a little about their work and fielded questions. Again, very positive, very friendly, some critiques, some praise, nobody had the chance to speak forever in the loudest voice, and whether you shot on a holga or shot on a hasselblad everybody had the chance to participate.

I didn't drive at this point in my life, or that would have been my camera club of choice. There was a canon camp, a nikon camp, a small minolta camp with gentle ribbing each way, but folk weren't bogged down by numbers.

So whenever I am asked about my kit I try and steer it around to my photography, and importantly, their photography.. what kind of work they like to do, their influences, what they are doing with their photography etc. When it comes to photography I am an amateur, this has several interpretations, but I prefer it's translatedinterpretation from the french. I do it for the love of it.

If I'm on a video shoot, I tell folk to 'ferk off I'm busy', because usually I am, and I'm recording sound too, so shut up. Or if it's security guards trying to tell me they have juristiction over the queens highway I'm usually more robust than that.

@Paul13walnut - where abouts in Scotland you from? You ever kick about in Glasgow? Security guards are annoying but even more annoying is folk who call the police on ye! I was out n about one day in Glasgow and testing out a camera phone's ummm camera since I worked at O2. Figured I should at least try out our products before advising customers. Anyway, one time a security guy says "you need permission to photograph this building" (this is the building where I worked - I even showed him ID!) and another time I was on a high street taking pictures when some folk across in a pub called the police on me because they thought I was a terrorist. Cops pulled me up and asked me if I had a camera. I said no, just a phone. They didn't seem to enquire further so I didn't mention it was a camera phone (this is a while ago before smartphones). Top notch police work and great neighbourhood watching from the erm pub!

I wonder are folk still para? Been 5yrs since I was back there.

Logged

Move along nothing to see here!

paul13walnut5

Cops are fine 99.9% of the time. They have handcuffs and are usually quite hardy, so I'm usually nice to them, I know my rights and the law in regard to public filming, I don't push it, and they are usually responding to a public complaint, or because I'm near a 'sensitive' building like a train station etc.

I tell them who I am, what I'm doing, for whom. Show them ID if required. They are almost always absolutely fine 'they just have to ask'. Fine by me. A lot of togs see this as invasion of their liberty and their rights and get a bit arsey about it. I repeat: They have handcuffs and are usually quite hardy, so I'm usually nice to them, and we can both quickly get on with our lawful business.

Security guards are the worst. I get hassle from these guys everytime I'm shooting outside. As they have no legal powers at all in Scotland on public land I just tell them to phuck oph. I have no interest at all in trying to negotiate with a zombie. 'I'll need to radio this in to the control room' 'you still here? I thought I told you to phuk oph?' 'You can't speak to me that way' '(high pitched whine) "ooh can peakame ja way"

To be fair when I'm filming with an ENG camera and tripod I'm fairly conspicuous, so I'm an easy target. I sometimes ask if they have a mobile phone, and do they not think that if I was wanting covert footage I'd use something like that instead.

I was a sentance away from fisticuffs with a mall guard who took exception to the tripod over my back when I was buying a sandwich. 'Are you taking photos' 'No''But thats a camera stand''Aye, but I'd need a camera''You can't take photos here''I'm not''But thats a camera stand''Boring me now'etc etc.Meanwhile everybody else is filming it, on their iphones....